Liverpool Pursues Barcola Amid Midfield Concerns

Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola is very much alive, despite claims talks had stalled, with Fabrizio Romano adamant the club remain locked on to the Paris Saint-Germain winger as their prime attacking target.

The Premier League side have already moved decisively in this window, bringing in Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz. The next phase of the rebuild is clear: find a new top-tier winger to help fill the vast void left by Mohamed Salah.

Inside the Barcola chase

Barcola has emerged as that man. The PSG wide player, under contract until 2028, is understood to be unwilling to sign an extension, and is described as being very keen on a move to Anfield. Liverpool have been in direct contact over a fee, with PSG initially demanding around £145m.

Reports on Friday suggested Liverpool had “paused negotiations” over two separate issues, hinting that the deal had cooled. Romano has pushed back hard on that narrative.

On his YouTube channel, the transfer specialist underlined that Liverpool are “still trying for Barcola” and said he is “absolutely all in” on the transfer happening.

“What does it (the Torres and Godts arrivals) mean? That there is an expectation there could be movements around the situation of Bradley Barcola,” Romano said, pointing to PSG’s recent business as a potential trigger for outgoings.

He stressed that the winger’s situation “remains absolutely linked to Liverpool” and that he has never wavered in his belief that the Merseyside club are serious.

“I never stopped telling you and I remain absolutely all in on this story, because Liverpool want Barcola. Liverpool are negotiating for Barcola, and because I was believing in this news already in April, May, when the story and the narrative around was that Barcola was untouchable. But I remain on this story again today.”

The gap is money, not intent

The core of the stand-off is financial. PSG’s valuation and Liverpool’s offer are still some distance apart, but the lines of communication are open.

“Liverpool are still trying for Barcola. There’s still a gap in financial valuation between what PSG want and what Liverpool offer, but they’re still working for Barcola,” Romano explained.

Crucially for Liverpool, personal terms are not an obstacle.

“The financial agreement with the player is okay, and now Liverpool and PSG keep talking, exchanging messages and discussing for Barcola. The deal is alive.”

For a club trying to refresh its attack without Salah, that last line matters. Liverpool know they cannot afford to miss on their flagship wide signing.

Carragher sounds the alarm on midfield

While the Barcola saga rumbles on, Jamie Carragher has turned the spotlight onto an area he believes could derail Liverpool’s season: the midfield.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, the former defender did not sugar-coat his concerns.

“The midfield for me is still a huge problem for Liverpool,” he said. “I haven’t watched all the pre-season games, but I watched the last two against decent opposition – it was Leeds and then Monaco.

“And the problem Liverpool had last season was there was space everywhere in midfield. That has not gone away at all.”

Carragher fears the current setup, particularly with Dominik Szoboszlai’s role, could stretch that unit even further.

“That’s only going to get bigger with the deployment of [Dominik] Szoboszlai in midfield,” he added. “It looks like they’re going to play him, rather than as a number 10, almost as a central midfield player alongside [Ryan] Gravenberch and that is just pure box-to-box.”

Liverpool, then, are trying to land a marquee winger while a club legend warns of structural issues behind him. If Barcola does walk through the doors at Anfield, the next question will be blunt: who is going to protect him from the chaos in behind?